Pick-up tongs for live wires.



Nor 700,002. Patented May I3, I902.

A. AMBUHL. PICK-UP TONGS FOB LIVE WIRES.

(Application filed Nov. 29, 1901.)

(No Model.)

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ANDREW AMBUHL, OF DECATUR, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO GARTON-DANIELS COMPANY, OF KEOKUK, IOWA, A CORPORATION OF IOWVA.

PICK-UP TONGS FOR LIVE WIRES.

SPECIFICATION forming part Of Letters Patent NO. 700,002, dated May 13, 1902.

Application filed November 29, 1901. $eria1No. 84,139. (No model.)

To all whom, it nuty concern: 1

Be it known that I, ANDREW AMBUHL, of the city of Decatur, county of Macon, and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Pick-Up Tongs for Live ires, of which the following is a specification.

This invention provides simple and superior means for safely picking up and handling live electric wires, and it is particularly useful in handling broken trolley-wires.

The invention is exemplified in the structure hereinafter described, and it is defined in the appended claims.

In the drawings forming part of this speci fication, Figure 1 is a perspective representation of the tongs in a closed condition. Fig. 2 shows the tongs grasping a wire.

One member of the tongs consists of a pair of bars 1 and 2, which are separated by struts 3 and 4, interposed between the bars near the ends thereof and are secured together by bolts 5 and 6, which extend'through the bars and through the struts. .The other member of the tongs comprises the bar 10, which is pivoted between bars 1 and 2 on a bolt 7. The bar 10 is approximately as wide as the space between bars 1 and 2, and it is short enough to occupy the space between struts 8 and 4. The parallel bars 1 and 2 have transverse grooves 8 and 9 in their upper surfaces as they are shown in the drawings, and the bar 10 has a similar groove in its under or opposite surface. The grooves '8 and!) are in line with each other, and the groove 13 lines up with the other grooves when the device is in position to grasp the wire, as shown in Fig. 2. A hole 11 is formed in the handle end of the bar 10. A rope 12 is extended through the hole and secured therein, and when the tongsare in operation the rope extends between bars 1 and 2 and bears against strut'3.

The bars are preferably made of wood, and their size and proportion may be varied to get best results.

When the tongs are in. use, the wire 14 is grasped bythe jaw ends ofthe bars and rests in the grooves thereof, the bars 1 and '2 provide two-separate bearings for the wire, and the single bar 10 presses on'the wire between the bearings thereof on bars 1 and 2.

The

bars have enough thickness to give the required strength and stifiness, and when the tongs are opened far enough to bring the groove of bar 10 above the grooves of bars 1 and 2 the handle end of bar 1 is separated a considerable distance from the strut 3. This separation gives rope 12 opportunity to pull the jaws firmly against the wire by using the strut 3 as a bearing, and so the wire is clamped by the means used to convey and sustain it. The clamping operation isv the same, no matter what the diameter of the wire is, provided it is small enough to enter the grooves, as the jaws adjust themselves to wires of diiferent slzes.

The device is intended to be carried on trolley-cars to be used in emergencies, and it is foldable into a small compact compass, so that: it may be easily stored away when not in use. When a trolley-wire breaks, a depending end of the wire is grasped by the tongs, as shown in Fig. 2, the rope is drawn taut to clamp the jaws onto the wire, and the wire is pulled by the rope to a pole or other support, from which it may be suspended out of contact with the ground until the repairgang arrives. The rope is used to suspend the wire as well as to drag it around, and the greater the resistance of the wire the stronger the grip of the tongs;

The bars 1 and 2 conjoin in front of their jaw forming ends to present an unbroken surface to the wire, and they separate at the wire-clamping point to permit the single jaw to swing between them and to enable wires of different diameters to be clamped. The jaws do not oppose each other. The single jaw tends to bend the wire into the space between the parallel bars of the compound jaw, e and the bolt in the nose of the compound-jaw prevents the members of the jaw from spreading apart.

I claim- V,

1. In a tongs for picking up and handling 5 live wire, the combination of a pair of straight parallel bars conjoinedat their ends and separated except at their ends,and a straight'bar shorter than the distance between the connected ends of the parallel bars, the single Ico the single bar and the compound bar com prising the handles and jaws of the tongs.

2. In a tongs for handling wire, the combination of a pair of parallel bars conjoined at their ends and separated between their ends, another bar pivoted between the parallel bars with its jaw part swingable between the jaw part of the parallel bars, and a flexible line connected with the handle end of the single bar and extended through the handle end of ID the compound bar.

In testimony whereofI sign my name in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

ANDREW AMBUHL.

Witnesses E. S. MCDONALD, ROSA VoELoKnR. 

